Are you wanting to road trip across Utah while visiting the 5 amazing national parks and more? Well, this is just the place for you to be! I am going to share our road trip route, where we stayed and some amazing things that you don't want to miss. This is a longer post because there is so much information to share with so many amazing pictures!
The Route:
My sweet husband was so excited for our road trip that he spent hours mapping out the best route on Google maps. Luckily for you, we are willing to share so you can save some time while planning your trip. We decided to start in St. George and end in Moab, but it could be done the opposite way as well. We would love to hear about your experience in the comments below!
Click HERE to view the map on Google.
Continue reading for information about all of the stops.
Day 1: St. George- Toquerville Falls
We decided to spend a couple of days in St George to enjoy the sun and warm weather, which was so amazing. Bracken wanted to try off-roading in his new car, so we decided to drive the trail to Toquerville Falls. It was a really fun and relatively easy to maneuver if you have a little off road experience. Your car does need to have a decent amount of clearance or the bottom of your vehicle will get beat up. (Research the trail a little if you want to go on this fun adventure to make sure you are prepared.)
The trail to the the falls is a little rough, but so worth it for the view! My husband loved every minute of the drive and I loved it... while holding on tight to the door and sitting on the edge of my seat... I'm still getting used to the off-road thing.
I love the picture with our car on top of the falls. The water flows right over the rock on the top so he was trilled that he could drive through it to get a good picture.
I think the picture with his car shows off the full beauty of Toquerville Falls. When it is warm enough, you can actually jump off the rock in to the water below. Unfortunately for us, it was not that warm outside and the water level was too low to jump in, but we did hike down and walk in the water. We highly recommend Toquerville Falls if you are in the St. George area for a day and have the vehicle to get you there. Overall, it was a ton of fun and I would do it again in a heartbeat!
Day 2: St. George- Snow Canyon State Park
We had an extra day planned to explore St. George so we went to Snow Canyon State Park. The weather was so perfect and the views were so amazing, as you can see from the pictures. First we ”hiked” (it was more of a walk) Jenny‘s Canyon Trail. It was a fun, short walk to a little slot canyon. This hike would be super fun with little kids because it is short and there are some fun places to climb in the rock.
Next, we went to the Petrified Sand Dunes. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was way cool! We were road tripping with 2 other couples and we sat there for an hour and just talked while taking in the views. I loved the Petrified Sand Dunes!
Our last stop in St. George was at Sweet Rolled Tacos. Tacos and ice cream, what could be better? This was a fun treat before we headed out on our road trip. Also, if you like corn dogs, go to The Corn Dog Company. Best corndogs ever.
Where to stay:
My family has a condo in St. George so we stayed there, but there are so many rentals and Airbnb's in Southern Utah that would be perfect to stay at! It can be pricey during holidays because of the high demand, so plan accordingly.
Day 3: Zion National Park
Today was the day that we braved Angel's Landing. Not going to lie... I was terrified. I'm all for adventures and hiking, but I do value my life. Hiking up kicked my booty! It was our first hike of the year and is very steep. We made it to Scouts landing and ate some lunch, which was much needed. The top left picture below is the ridge you climb after Scouts Landing in order to get to the top. It is so amazing to look at, but definitely made my hands tremble a little at first. In all honesty, I never felt unsafe while hiking. They have done a great job with the chains and they keep you real secure as long as you use them. So use them! We made it to the top and I felt so accomplished and the view was gorgeous! Hiking down was the scariest part because you have to look down as you walk, but it goes by much quicker than hiking up. At the end of the hike our legs were jello, but my sweet husband agreed to take a jumping picture with me (see below) because I was so proud of what we had just done.
Here is a little video to show you what you what you are getting yourself into. Enjoy Bracken's wonderful commentary.
After doing Angel's Landing Bracken and I decided the view from the Canyon Overlook Trail is just as amazing, if not better, so if you aren't up for Angel's Landing try out that hike or Observation Point. Canyon Overlook is only a mile long hike and is so pretty that we took our wedding pictures there. Observation Point is a longer hike, the NP website says it is 8 miles, but the views are incredible as well. Click HERE for a link to more hikes.
Where to stay:
There are hotels near the entrance of Zion if you are coming from the direction of St. George, Airbnb's and camping is also available. We stayed in St. George and took of to the next park early in the morning.
Day 4: Bryce Canyon National Park and Escalante Petrified Forest State Park
We woke up early and made the drive from St. George to Bryce Canyon National Park. We highly recommend that you drive back through Zion to get to Bryce. (This is that route that we have on our map above.) It is such a gorgeous drive through the park and is neat to see the rock change from red to white as you get higher up in elevation.
Once you are in Bryce, you mainly stay on one road that is 38 miles round trip. There are 13 viewpoints along the road that you can stop at to see the most incredible views. These views are truly unlike anything I have every seen. Scroll through the pictures below then continue on to read about my favorite stops!
Sunrise Point is one of the first places you can stop and was my first introduction to Bryce. When I walked up and saw the amazing views I was could not believe this place actually existed. It was seriously unbelievably gorgeous. Sunset point is very similar because it looks at the same thing from a different view, but is very pretty still. One of my two favorite stops was inspiration point. It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen! There were so many hoodoos and such amazing red rock. My other favorite stop was Natural Bridge. The natural bridge is similar to an arch, but is so unique. I loved looking through the bridge made of red rock and seeing dark green trees. We made a few other stops, but did not make it to the top because we had made plans to meet back up with our friends. Bryce Canyon is probably one of my favorite parks that I have been to and I cannot wait to go back and hike/bike around there. Leave me suggestions of hikes or rides that we should do when we go back!
We met back up with our friends at Escalante Petrified Forest State Park. There are some nature trails that we followed that led us to some petrified wood. Honestly, you have to hike a little while to see some petrified wood, so don't give up! We almost started doubting that it existed. Once you see your first piece, there is quite a bit to follow. It was so unique! You do not have to plan this stop into your trip, but we discovered it while planning ours and wanted to check it out.
After the state park we headed to the town of Escalante and ate some amazing pizza at Escalante Outfitter Cafe. It has one of the best pizza crusts that I have ever eaten and they have some fun topping choices. You will not regret going here. It is a little more expensive than your average pizza, but well worth it to me.
We also wanted to explore a little in Escalante so we went to Devil's Garden, which we all loved. It is Similar to Goblin Valley, but the hoodoos are larger and you can climb on them. It was fun to climb all over the rocks!
Where to stay:
You can camp at Wide Hollow Reservoir Campground, which is at Escalante Petrified Forest. It has a fun little lake that you could play on. You can rent kayaks, canoes or paddleboards there during certain times of the year.
We set up camp on some public land in Escalante, but I have no clue where because we just followed our friends. It was so cold and actually snowed on us!
If you want a warmer night, there are a few lodges or Airbnb's around. If we go back we will stay either at Escalante Escape or Yonder Escalante because they are the cutest little cabins that I fell more in love with every time we drove past.
Day 5: Capitol Reef National Park and Goblin Valley State Park
After waking up to snow, we packed up camp and headed to Capitol Reef National Park. To get there, you go over some neat mountain passes and the views are pretty cool. Capitol Reef is one of the few parks that you do not need to pay to get into the park. (There is still a visitors center, which is very important to us for souvenir reasons.) Make sure you grab a map so that you do not miss where you want to stop.
Our first stop was at the pie shop at the Gifford Homestead. Unfortunately, the pie shop was close because of the time of year we went. It opened just a few days after were there, but we highly recommend their pies because we have been there before. Once you are back on the main road, make sure you stop to see the petroglyphs that are on the left side of the road. There is a path/bridge that leads you along the rock to see some neat drawings. Another stop we recommend is Hickman Bridge. It was cold and windy so we passed on that hike this time. Cassidy Arch is also very popular.
After Capitol Reef we headed to Goblin Valley State Park, which is one of mine and Bracken's favorite places ever. There are probably trails that you can follow and hike to certain features, but we usually just hike around and explore. We love to find a good spot and play hide and seek with our family and friends. (If you look closely at the last picture below, you can see poking me head out between the rocks, almost in the very middle of the picture.)
Where to stay:
There is a campground in the state park that I have stayed at before. The sky gets so dark and the stars are so bright and incredible! There are also yurts that you can stay in, but you need to make sure to reserve one beforehand.
We camped on the public land near Goblin Valley and it was so cool! I'm still obsessed with the pictures of our camp.
Day 6: Arches National Park and Moab
There are so many fun hikes and things to see in Arches. The first thing we did in the park was hike to Delicate Arch. It is a little over 3 miles round trip and is so worth the hike! It was so incredible to round the corner and watch the arch appear as you climb the last little bit. I was so amazed at its beauty! Living in Utah I have seen this arch all over shirts and license plates, but the real things was so amazing. Personally, I think this hike is a must!
Double arch was also really neat. You can see it from the parking lot and then take a short walk to go under the arches. Landscape arch is also really neat because it is so long and the rock is so thin. Arches is a super fun park to explore!
After Arches we walked the Moab main street because there are so many cute shops with art from local artists. There is also a food truck park with some yummy options. If you have extra time in Moab, there is so much to do. You can hike, bike, off-roading, river rafting, rock climbing, horseback riding and so much more. It is such a fun town with two National Parks really close by.
Where to stay:
We stayed in an Airbnb just out of Moab. There are so many Airbnb's that you can rent out. There are also hotels and places to camp.
Day 7: Canyonlands National Park and Dead Horse Point State Park
On our way to Canyonlands we decided to stop at Dead Horse State Park since we were driving right past it. The color of the rock and the river was so cool. We did not spend much time there, but the view was neat!
We stopped at Mesa Arch in Canyonland and it was one of my favorite things we saw all week. It was so neat to have an arch frame such a beautiful view. I highly recommend going to Mesa arch! We were headed to hike the Grand View Point next, but it started snowing so much that we could barely see what was in front of us... so we turned around and went back to Moab. We had never been to Canyonlands before and we will definitely be going back to see more things. Let us know what we should do and see when we do go back!
Overall it was such an amazing week and we cannot wait to go on more trips like this one! We hope that this information helps you plan a great trip. Thanks for reading and travel safe!
Best Wishes,
Hailey Jo
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